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UNM receives F grade for free speech climate

On Sept. 9, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression released their 2026 College Free Speech Rankings report, which ranks the University of New Mexico at 139 out of 257 universities. This ranking is up from last year, when UNM was ranked 219 out of 251. This year, UNM received an overall score of 57.0 out of 100, and an “F” grade for free speech climate. Both scores are based on student surveys, campus policies and speech-related controversies, according to the FIRE website. FIRE was founded in 1998 by University of Pennsylvania history professor Alan Charles Kors and civil liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate to advocate for the rights of college students and faculty on matters of freedom of speech and expression, according to the FIRE website. 

Governor, UNM President cut ribbon on new critical care tower

A decade-long wait is finally over, as the University of New Mexico Hospital Critical Care Tower is set to begin receiving patients on Sunday, Oct. 5. University and Hospital leadership alongside state and federal authorities gathered on Friday, Sept. 26 for a celebration and official ribbon cutting ceremony. The 570,000-square-foot tower features a 68 bed expansion to the Adult Emergency Department, 96 new intensive care beds, a surgical suite with 18 operating rooms and a second helipad. UNM Hospital is the state’s largest teaching hospital and only level I trauma center. The fourth floor of the Critical Care Tower is inaccessible to patients and visitors and will serve as a multi-use space with private rooms, lockers and eating lounges; but much of the space will also be dedicated to meeting rooms for educational purposes.

Fat Bear Week returns: these bears are as hungry as a, well…

In anticipation of the upcoming hibernation season, burly bears are competing to be crowned the fattest brown bear as part of Fat Bear Week, an online voting competition for the public to choose their favorite and plumpest at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Fat Bear Week is a single-elimination style tournament where the bear with the most votes is anointed Fat Bear Week champion, according to the Katmai Conservancy. Voters have the chance to see how the bears looked in the spring and compare them to their current shape, often many pounds heavier in preparation for the winter, and watch them through livestreams. It is recommended that people cast their ballot for the bear they feel most exemplifies fatness and success as a brown bear, according to the competition guidelines. Voting will end on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Lobos stomp Aggies in front of 37,000

The University of New Mexico Lobo Football team showed out in front of their largest crowd since 2007, a sellout of 37,440 people, and dominated their rival, the New Mexico State University Aggies, sealing a 38–20 home victory.  Lobo Head Coach Jason Eck fed into the moment with his trademark intensity. After one play where a false-start penalty was called on NMSU, Eck turned toward the crowd and credited the fans for their impact.  “I want (the crowd) to know they have an impact on the game by making a lot of noise causing that guy to jump offsides,” Eck said.

New public lands information center to open in Old Town

While most of the space is still in boxes with maps and informational flyers strewn about, there will soon be a new Public Lands Interpretive Association Discovery Center opening its doors in Old Town Albuquerque. PLIA is a non-profit that supports public lands throughout the Southwest and partners with federal agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. Its mission is to make sure that people have the resources, tools and information they need to explore public lands, Aryn LaBrake, PLIA’s executive director, said. The organization helps staff BLM and Forest Service sites and visitor centers. PLIA also provides, sells, and creates maps of public lands, memorabilia and educational publications, on topics such as hunting, camping, hiking and rockhounding.

Herbalist guides enthusiasts through tour of UNM’s plant life

On a sunny early autumn day on Sept. 23, plant lovers followed herbalist, Dara Saville, around the University of New Mexico to learn all about various plants located throughout the central campus, and how those plants are used beneficially for our health and environment. Saville is the founder and primary instructor of Albuquerque Herbalism, a herbal studies program that provides one-day specialty classes and an upcoming, in-depth semester-long course. She also serves as the founder and director of the Yerba Mansa Project, which strives to restore habitats as a community, while learning about native medicinal plants and land stewardship.

Help “Him”

Where does fear live? Does it sit in the body, heavy and wet, reminding you that you are a living animal? Is it in the brain? That delicate computer in between all of our ears, that can as easily guide us as it can deceive us? From the devil or God or things lurking in the dark? I’ll tell you where it certainly does not live: in Justin Tipping’s new horror film, “Him.” Hopes were set high on Sept. 18 when “Him” was released with Jordan Peele — the man behind “Get Out,” “Us” and “Nope” — attached as a producer through his company Monkeypaw Productions. Those expectations were not met.

LETTER: More Conversations, Better Outcomes: 5 Tips To Help Prioritize Mental Health While In College

By Dr. Nicole Brady, Chief Medical Officer, UnitedHealthcare Student Resources  College is often seen as the ultimate proving ground for independence – you’re setting your own schedule, managing classes, navigating new relationships and adapting to a new environment. For many, it can also be the first time living away from home. These many new experiences may lead to stress, anxiety, even depression. Dealing with mental health challenges on your own may only be unrealistic, it may be harmful. 

Comic, Sept. 22, 2025

Lobos Men’s Golf freshman wins individual title

The University of New Mexico Men’s Golf Team hosted the 70th William H. Tucker Invitational at The UNM Championship Course on Friday, Sept. 19, and Saturday, Sept. 20, for the lone home event of the season. The Lobos started strong at 18 under par, entering day two with a three-stroke lead, but after a slow start and some missed shots, the Lobos hit an even par in round three, finishing in second place behind Long Beach State, who finished -23.

Santos: New Mexico’s generational art form

Throughout New Mexico’s history, art has been an integral part of telling the rich and vibrant stories and beliefs of its local people. One such style of art unique to the southwest is the craft of creating “santos,” the name given to multiple types of artistic demonstrations of figures in Catholicism, including paintings on wooden tablets known as retablos, carved statues called bultos and reredos, panel paintings often displayed behind the altar in churches. Santos were originally displayed in the mission churches the Franciscans built when they came to the southwest, and typically depicted a saint, the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus, or the Holy Family, Jana Gottshalk, curator and museum director of the Nuevo Mexicano Heritage Arts Museum, wrote in a statement to the Daily Lobo.

Art historian shares anti-racist pictorial works

In strong ink, artists illustrate figures and scenes in black and white, illuminating a nuanced history of marginalized communities. Through prints, artists tell their stories and call out for justice, and with the help of modern technology, art historian Bruno Pinheiro presented their pieces so an audience can listen and learn. Pinheiro, an art historian stationed as a postdoctoral fellow at the Leonard A. Lauder Center for Modern Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, led the show as he walked a digital audience through a remote museum of print works depicting the struggles and triumphs of connecting members of marginalized communities on Friday, Sept. 19, hosted by the University of New Mexico Latin American and Iberian Institute.

Culture and Curveballs: Michael Lopez reflects on his roots

University of New Mexico Baseball Associate Head Coach Michael Lopez is not ashamed of his heritage. Like his father before him, he was raised with the phrase, “don’t let them call you a lazy Mexican,” Lopez said. Lopez gives the phrase partial credit for growing up in a household where hard work and discipline were preached. No one would dare call Lopez that today, as he has steadily improved the Lobo’s pitching staff since entering the picture in July. Earned run average, walks and hits per innings pitched and walks per nine innings are all down as Lobo baseball trends in the right direction. 

NM House Speaker condemns Israeli military

On Thursday, Sept. 18, a press conference was held in front of the Pete V. Domenici United States Courthouse in light of the expired one-year deadline set by the United Nations General Assembly to enforce the International Court of Justice advisory opinion that declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal. During the press conference, New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Bernalillo) and emergency physician Clayton Dalton, who worked at a Gaza hospital in January, condemned Israel’s military actions. The press conference was sponsored by the Southwest Coalition for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace Albuquerque and the New Mexico Alliance for Justice in Palestine.

Lobos y Lowriders shifts into gear

Polished rims, shiny hoods and big smiles kicked off the Lobos y Lowriders event on Wednesday, Sept. 17. In the midst of Hispanic Heritage Month, New Mexico’s lowriders proudly showed off their sweet rides and unique culture, bringing color and shine to the University of New Mexico Student Union Building courtyard. “If this car could talk; imagine what it would tell you,” Frank “Poncho” Chavez, the president of the Duke’s Car Club Albuquerque and owner of a 1959 Chevrolet Impala, said.

Cowboys and cultists band together for acid westerns

Beneath a searing desert sun, an endless landscape of sand and solitude brought together both cinepiles and history buffs alike to support a unique take on the classic western. Tucked in a wooden cabin on Saturday, Sept. 20, the team behind the “Birth of the Acid Western” hosted a fundraiser supporting the post-production of their documentary on the filmmaker Orville Wanzer. Wanzer was a professor of film and journalism at New Mexico State University, as well as a surrealist western filmmaker. The acid western genre, which first emerged from the counter-culture movements of the 1960s, is a film set against a western backdrop, but unapologetically engages with darker and more subversive themes, and deviates from the typical hero’s journey present in most westerns, Julia Smith said — a former NMSU film professor and the filmmaker behind “Birth of the Acid Western.”

Lobo football to take on the Aggies for 115th time

New Mexicans will soon look to University Stadium once again to decide who reigns supreme in the state’s football: the Lobos or the Aggies. On Saturday, Sept. 27, the University of New Mexico Lobos and their rivals, The New Mexico State University Aggies, will be battling it out for the 115th time in their long-rivaled history. Over time, the Lobos have claimed 74 of the wins, while the Aggies have claimed only 35 — with five ties between the teams — but over the last decade, the rivalry has been nearly split, with the Lobos barely passing the Aggies 5-4.

UNM Volleyball drops the ball against Aggies, ending win streak

It’s Rivalry Week across NCAA Volleyball, and the Battle of I-25 was on full display as New Mexico’s two division one universities competed till the end. The University of New Mexico Lobos ultimately were bested by their Rio Grande rival, the New Mexico State Aggies, on Wednesday, Sept. 17. This NMSU victory marks a snap in a three-game win streak in the rivalry for the Lobos Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar’s volleyball team.  Both squads fought till the end, as the match went five sets. The first set was won by the Aggies 25-18, the second and third going to the Lobos, 25-23 and 25-18 respectively, before things swung back in favor of the Aggies, who took the fourth set 25-23 and fifth 15-7. 

UNM Volleyball takes home win against NMSU

The University of New Mexico Women’s Volleyball team had a rivalry match with the New Mexico State University Aggies on Tuesday, Sept. 16. NMSU came with fire, but UNM was not going to let go of their winning ways.  NMSU came for blood in the first set of the match, with the score being tugged back and forth between the two teams. With outside hitter Uliana Yastrub bringing in UNM’s first kill, the score quickly turned in favor of the Lobos. The first break was called with a score of 15-11 with the Lobos on top. Only seconds back into the game, middle blocker Zoe Leonard slammed down NMSU’s attempt at a point. A timeout was called by NMSU, as they were hurting from a 23-17 score. NMSU brought back the heat, creeping up on the Lobos, but the first set ended in triumph for UNM as they secured it 25-21.

United falls in close match to FC Tulsa

After a nail-biting night at New Mexico United’s home turf, fans were left disappointed as the team fell short, losing to FC Tulsa on Saturday, Sept. 13. United is currently at 10 wins, three draws and 10 losses.  The game began when University of New Mexico Lobos Football Head Coach Jason Eck helped United get first possession of the ball after winning a coin toss. The energy was high from the start, as both players and fans carried passion and hope that another victory would be added to their record. The first half played out much as United had envisioned, with sharp distribution and precise timing with smooth momentum.